The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-01-06
ON BOARD A MORTAR BOAT.
Experience While Bombarding Fort Jack
son.

One of the preliminary movements for
the passage of the forts defending New
Orleans was the bringing up and placing
| of Porter's mortar fleet where it could
she'll the forts. The number of these
mortar boats wss an even twenty, and
they were divided irto three divisions,
each division having separate comman-
der and being located by itself. For
several days before the mortars got to
work the coast survey men were busy
buoying out positions aud calculating
distances, and the wonderful work ac-
complished by them was the wonder of
at least the rank and file of the feet.
The distance to each fort was so accurate
ly estimated by triangulation that the
very FIRST shell killed one man and
wounded another inside the works.
The division to which 1 was attached
was anchored close to the bank of the
river, with strip of woods half mile
wide between US and the forts. Beyond
| the woods was wide marsh, and our
proper distance from the nearest work
was 5000 feet. The other fort (St.
Phillip was about 600 yards further
away. 1t is a matter of history that our
masts were trimmed with bushes where
they showed above the trees, so as to
blind the gunners at the forts. | was
one of the detail of men who carried out
this movement, and queer enough our
schooners looked when the work was
completed. Our proper masts seemed to
have been replaced BY trees taken from
the shore. But few of US had had any
experience with mortars, a..d the COM
mander of each vessel issued instructions,
which We followed with benefit. Few
men, even those belonging 10 the artillery
service, have any idea of the terrible din
and concussion Of mortar firing on ship
board. On land much of the din seems
to be absorbed by the solid ground, but
on board vessel you feel it all. Some
of the men on our schooner who neglected
the precaution of holding a bit of soft
wood in their teeth bit their tongues in a
bad way. We had our ears stuffed with
cotton, and each time the mortar was
fred every man rose on his tiptoes.
Despite these precautions many minor
accidents happened, aud nothing could
prevent us from feeling and hearing
good share of the terrible din.
After the feet got to firing regularly
the roar was heard fifty miles at sea, and
crockery was ratified about on pantry
shelves in houses twenty five miles dis.
tant. We fred about once in every seven
or eight minutes and this kept eight or
nine shells in the open air all the time.
AT each discharge the boat keeled over
as if she had struck heavy sea, and had
scarcely come back to level keel when
we were ready to repeat the operation.
The strain on planks aud timbers wss
tremendous. After we had fired the fifth
shot ne had to set the pumps goiug, and
some of the great spikes were started
half an inch. Had we been aground the
bottom of the schooner would have been
driven out at the frat fire. While the
entire feet came in for the din, the crews
of the mortars OF course suffered most.
After the first days firing, which ceased
at sunset, the stiffness was almost as
much Of a strain on our nerves as the
noise had been, and it vas hours before
we could 60 to sleep.
1t must not be supposed that all the
fun was on our side. After our third
shot the Confederates opened on US from
a number of heavy guns. While they
could not see us on account of the forest,
they knew our position, and after little
shot and she'll began to fall around US.
Inside of one hour counted eight shells
which fell within 200 feet of our schooner,
and the bursting of some of them threw
water on our decks. During the first day
we had dozen missiles pass directly
over US, cutting few ropes, and wit
messed several accidents aboard of other
vessels lying ahead aud behind US. The
destructive work of the Confederate fire
was, however, more plainly seen when
the big 12O pound shells fell into the
forest which protected US. The soil was
soft and spongy, being subject to periodi.
Cal overfows, and when the great shells
sunk into this earth and exploded they
would throw mud and water over the
tree tops and leave crater large enough
to take in q house. Scores of great trees
we're uprooted by these explosions, and
the shells which exploded in the tops of
others created far more havoc than the
angriest bolts of lightning ever hurled
fron Jove's hand.
We planted over 1900 bombs inside
the two forts on that first day, burning
the citadel and everything else which
would burn in Fort Jackson, driving
most of the men to shelter and damaging
the magazine so that it could not be
entered during the night. Outside of
thirty or forty shells which exploded in
the air, owing to bad fuses, not more than
dozen out Of the great number fired
fell outside Of the works. We fired
entirely at Fort Jackson, which was a
mile snd half away.
We opened FIRE again at daylight on the
second day, and the reply from the forts
was just as vigorous, although We knew
the enemy had suffered great deal and
must be considerably demoralized About
midforeuoon, just as we were ready to fill
our mortar for the fifteenth time since
opening, great rife shell, which plain
ly saw before it fell, and took to be q
bird of some sort, descended upon our